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Glite Dictionary
💧 Not squeezable 🗂️ Not shrinkable
noncompressible

noncompressible

7.4
Cannot be made smaller by pressure, like water
  • adjective
  • /ˌnɒn.kəmˈprɛs.ə.bəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : incompresible
  • Certain liquids, like water, are categorized as noncompressible due to their inability to be compressed under standard conditions.

Examples

  • A noncompressible material is crucial for applications where maintaining shape and volume is essential.

  • The mass measured 20 x 11 cm, and it was firm, nontender, and noncompressible.

    Academic text (2006)

  • In hydraulic systems, fluids are often considered noncompressible because they do not change volume under pressure.

Synonyms

incompressible
vsnoncompressible
  • Specialized
1 7.7

Does not become smaller when you press it

is focused on not being reduced in volume by applied pressure
uncrushable
vsnoncompressible
5.8

Very hard to break by pressing or hitting

is about inability to be reduced in volume rather than avoiding structural breakage

Antonyms

compressible
  • Specialized
1 6.2

Can become smaller in volume when you press it

How Compressible

spongy
11 2.2
compressible
  • Specialized
1 6.2
noncompressible
  • Specialized
7.4
rigid
35 4.0

Surface Forms

noncompressible positive

Morphology

noncompressible = compressible (transparent) = non + compress + ible

The adjective is formed by adding the negative prefix 'non-' to the clearly analyzable adjective 'compressible', yielding the straightforward negated meaning.

Etymology

Noncompressible comes from the prefix non- 'not' and the root compress 'to press together', so it literally means 'not able to be pressed smaller'. This helps you remember the engineering sense, where something like water is treated as not changing its size under pressure.